Red Perfection, Incomplete Evil
by dragonsroar
Summary: Just a little story I cooked up because I felt a certain character in Naruto Fanfiction wasn't getting a lot of time to shine. Enjoy.


This is a short little one-shot I thought about when I discovered what Akamaru's name actually stands for.

* * *

It was another day in the hidden village, Konoha. And like most days it was alive with the hustle and bustle of its many occupants. Whether it was buying and selling or entertainment and work, the city was in full swing, especially since many shinobi have been given the day off from training, each spending it in their own particular fashion. Uzumaki Naruto was busy jumping from rooftop to rooftop, doing what he did best, causing trouble, while the less than enthusiastic Uchiha Sasuke decided to spend his day off thinking of ways to make his jutsu more powerful. For example, his 'Blowing Hair in the Wind no Justu' which magically allows his hair to blow in the wind when there's no wind present. Meanwhile Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino were in a heated debate over who was the better suitor for Sasuke, even though the term 'suitor' is usually reserved for a male. Nara Shikamaru wasn't busy doing anything, unless you consider lying on the roof of his house and starring up at clouds all day, busy. The boy was so into his cloud-gazing you could say that he created a philosophical view between the shapes of the clouds and people. If he had decided to write a book on his findings he'd make a fortune, alas he was much too lazy to do so. Further in the village another boy couldn't be happier as Akimichi Choji skipped merrily to the rib shop after winning an 'All-You-Can-Eat' coupon in a random potluck. He would later be hospitalized for severe indigestion. As for Team Guy, Rock Lee and Guy were busy training and honing their 'nice-guy' poses and saying that 'Youth does not take days off!'. They asked if Hyuga Neji and Tenten wanted to come but the two kindly refused. Neji quickly walked off, his plans for the day including meditating and bird-watching. Soon enough Tenten joined him and asked the branch boy if he wanted to see a movie with her. Before he had time to refuse his was dragged to his feet and hauled to the movie theater. Thus Neji was taken to a chick flick of Tenten's choice. He later died of boredom. Finally, Team 8 decided to spend their day together if not apart in the same sense. For they all found a single spot in the village that related to each of their individual hobbies. Whether it was an assorment of bugs being collected by Aburame Shino, or a wonderful selection of flora for Hyuga Hinata to exam or the fact that this all was in a rather large field, ideal for Inuzuka Kiba and his faithful companion Akamaru to have one of their 'walks', which rarely consisted of walking, this was all-an-all a peaceful day in Konoha, until… 

"Rawf!" barked Akamaru, landing while his master sailed through the air ahead of him

The nin-dog sensed something, something disturbing, something evil, something...familiar. It didn't take long for him to find it with his superb senses, his mood instantly doing a 180.

"Meow." Purred a jet-black kitten that had wandered into the field

Akamaru knew this cat...oh did he ever. This cat's name was Akubatsu and she was evil, _**pure**_ evil. Although Akamaru was the only one who thought this and he couldn't prove it though since the cat would always fool the humans. But he was smart (or paranoid, but who's to judge). Akubatsu caused him nothing but grief and he hated her for it because she was so good at doing so. Whether it was getting blamed for taking ribs from the rib shop or knocking over some expensive pottery, Akamaru was always the scapegoat for the trouble Akubatsu caused him.

"Grr…" growled Akamaru, baring his teeth at the cat

Akubatsu turned to the growling puppy and smirked smugly, almost goading him to try something and Akamaru was more than happy to oblige. But before he could he heard Kiba call back to him.

"Hurry up boy, I'm leavin' you behind!"

Akamaru growled again at the black cat but another call from his master forced him to step down, for now, but soon he would serve that kitty justice in a doggy dish.

* * *

Later in the day, when the group had lunch, Akamaru wandered off after quickly devouring the meal Kiba had made for him. He was on the hunt for Akubatsu and nothing was going to stop him, however it wasn't much of a hunt since the crafty cat could hide her scent from him. He wasn't sure if she had studied any jutsu or not, but finding her would not be easy. Although usually she was the one to find him and cause him trouble. 

"Bark?" he barked, wondering where she could be right now

Today he was going to catch that cat and skin her alive when he caught her. Fortunately for him it didn't take long for him to find her, for she was already causing trouble.

"Hey, get back here with that!" he heard a human yell, just before he saw Akubatsu jump out of a nearby window, large fish in mouth

"Raawf!" he barked, alerting Akubatsu to his presence

The pretty kitty cocked her head slightly before a wonderfully evil plan came to her. She rushed over to Akamaru, fish still in mouth. Akamaru stood his ground, awaiting an attack but right before the cat would crash into him she stopped, dropped the fish and ran into an alley way to the right, disappearing into it just as the human she stole the fish from came stumbling over.

"Arf?" questioned Akamaru as he watched the guy glare at him

It didn't take long for the puppy to realize what the cat had done and he tried to explain his situation to the fuming clerk, but since he couldn't speak human all that the clerk heard was a series of yaps and yips. This didn't help Akamaru's case in the least and the small dog could see that. He could also see the very large knife in the clerk's hand and the look of rage in his eyes.

"Gulp"

It was safe to say Akamaru took off like a bullet down the same alley way as Akubatsu, with the clerk right at his heels.

"I'll cleave you in two you fish thief!" roared the clerk as he gave chase and Akamaru's resolve to commit a homicide on Akubatsu grew and grew

Luckily for Akamaru he was faster than the clerk and it didn't take long for him to outrun him. When he deemed he was far enough away he stopped to rest. Just as he was getting his second wind he saw Akubatsu walking the street outside the alley and decided to try and sneak up on the sneaky cat. Akamaru remained deadly quiet and stealthy, putting his ninja training to the test as he snuck up on the cat. The street was rather busy, which meant that the various sounds and smells would probably throw Akubatsu's senses off, something Akamaru was hoping for. He grew closer and closer to his prey, prey that was none the wise to his advancements. He was right on top of her now and he lunged, teeth bared! But just as he was about to connect she hopped to the side, effectively side-stepping him and letting him crash into the ground, hard!

"_Purrrrrrrrr_." She purred teasingly, blowing Akamaru a raspberry

Akamaru grunted as he picked himself up, shaking his head quickly to shake it free of the headache he was experiencing, oh and to rid himself of the shame of being so easily duped by a cat.

"**Grrrrrrrr.**" He growled, glaring at the cat

Akubatsu simply rolled her eyes before taking off again. However, this time Akamaru was not letting her get away and quickly followed after. That's when all hell broke loose.

* * *

Cliches are built when something has been used and reused over and over again and has lost its original punch. However, cliches are fun to use when they are used in an original idea. For example, a dog chasing a cat. Big deal, right? Well what about a ninja-dog chasing a devil cat huh? Now that's funny, right? _**Right? **_Oh screw it. Just enjoy the rest of the story. 

"Raawf!" barked Akamaru as he chased Akubatsu through the streets

They jumped over boxes, ran under people's legs, darted in and out of different shops like beasts out of hell. Akubatsu was the faster of the two but Akamaru had the endurance to keep up, which he did as they jumped into a nearby restaurant. The patrons were all busy eating lunch when a cat and dog flew through an open window and caused a ruckus. Akubatsu jumped on a nearby table, knocking over a cup of water, right into a lap of a female patron. The cold water caused her to fly up like a rocket just as Akamaru popped her plate of rice into the air and into her face. The woman, blinded by curry stumbled back and crashed into another table, flipping it up and making a jump point for Akubatsu and Akamaru, giving them the height they needed to sail across two more tables before landing in someone's dessert. Frosted cake went everywhere, covering two more females in its gooey sweetness. When the two animals landed they scurried under the legs of one of the servers, startling him so badly that he stumbled and the plate of food he had in his hands flew out of them and crashed into a beautiful display of knives on another table. That impact caused the knives to go soaring and people to take cover. Akamaru didn't care that dangerously sharp items were coming his way and almost instinctively dodged them when they got close. The knives imbedded themselves into the ground, mere centimeters away from him as he and Akubatsu ran out through the back and out of the restaurant.

"Rawf, rawf, rawf!" barked Akamaru as he chased the black cat, disregarding all that were in his way

They were soon back to the streets, racing through people in their game of cat and mouse. Akubatsu leapt up, jumping up onto a stand that sold rice balls and easily weaved in-between the delicious foodstuffs. Akamaru tried to do the same; however he was not quite as agile and flexible as his prey and ended up crashing through the well prepared rice balls knocking them to the unforgiving ground below, which granted him foul language from the stand's owner.

"Damn dog!" was but one of the few words thrown at the white puppy, though Akamaru couldn't have cared less

"Arf, arf, arf!" barked Akamaru, following the crazy cat into what seemed like a movie theater

"Hey, no animals allowed!" roared the theater manager as he saw the two race in, but he was far too slow to do anything about it and the little animals breezed by him easily

"_Meow_!"

"Did you hear something?" Tenten asked Neji, before a back cat sailed over her head, "What in the…" she began, before Akamaru did the same, "Okay…weird, Neji, did you see that?" she asked

"Yes." He replied, "It was actually far more entertaining that what we're watching." He replied absentmindly, causing a vein to bulge on Tenten's head

He would later be hospitalized for extreme head trauma.

"Bark!" barked Akamaru, just as they left the theater

Akamaru's drive to ring that cat's neck couldn't be any stronger, even when the two left the streets and bounced along walls until they hit the rooftops.

"Hah, hah, hah!" laughed Naruto, his latest prank a success

After having successfully avoided the Jonin that were ready to scold him for his prank, which involved whip-cream, rope, and a garbage disposal (don't ask) the blonde-haired ninja tried to think of more pranks to pull while he jumped from rooftop to rooftop. He was so into his own thoughts that he never noticed Akubatsu or Akamaru coming up quickly behind him, not until they used his head as a spring board to clear the gap they jumped, while in mid-air. While the puppy and kitty landed successfully, Naruto lost his balance and careened helplessly toward the roof a nearby building. A building that happened to be the Shikamaru's, where said ninja was staring up at the clouds. He never saw Naruto coming until it was too late.

"Look out!"

"Huh?"

_CRASH!_

The two boys tumbled down from Shikamaru's roof in a tangle heap of arms and legs, hurtling to the ground below. Fortunately something broke their fall just before the hit the ground. Unfortunately that something happened to be Sakura and Ino, who were so busy yelling at one another they never saw the Shika-Naru mess falling on them. It was safe to say that after that collision their anger was no longer targeted toward each other.

"_Naruto!_" Sakura growled

"_Shikamaru!_" Ino shrieked

They would later be hospitalized for…well you don't want to know.

* * *

Akamaru followed the fast moving kitty cat through the rooftops with a single-minded fury, never letting her get out of his sight. Akubatsu, though tiring of this chase, was rather impressed that Akamaru had yet to give up. She would usually have left him in the dust by now, but he seemed dog determined (oh…a pun!) to catch her this time. However, all good things must come to an end and Akubatsu knew the one sure-fire way to get rid of him. 

"_Purrrrrrrr._" She purred, for her deliciously devious plan would soon come to fruition

She saw a long clothesline with many clothes hanging out to dry. Skillfully she jumped over to it and crossed the line as easily as a high-wire actor. Just as she made it to the other side Akamaru appeared, glaring at the cat, malice intent etched on his face. Akubatsu simply purred and stuck her tongue out at the dog, daring him to try and cross the rope. However, Akamaru wasn't quite as nimble as the black cat so he hesitated. He thought about trying to jump the gap, but it was just a tad too far for him to make and he could imagine himself going splat against the ground, due to how high up the two were.

"Meow, meow, me mow, _meow!_" Akubatsu taunted

Akubatsu was certain that Akamaru would give up and leave. He wasn't so stupid as to risk his life with something that could obviously end it. However, he proved her wrong. Slowly, ever so slowly he crawled out onto the clothesline, gripping to it as if his life depended on it. Ironically, it did.

"Bow…" murmured Akamaru, looking down out of pure instinct

It seemed as if the ground was moving away from him, feeding him an illusion of how high he really was in the air. His heart sank slightly and his stomach began to turn but he wasn't going to give up and he continued to move ever so slowly toward the other side while Akubatsu simply watched, half surprised and half impressed. She never thought he'd have the courage to actually do something so incredibly stupid. A slight breeze blew in, causing the clothesline to sway, just a little. But this was more than enough to scare Akamaru half to death, grabbing onto the line in a death grip.

"Meow." He heard and looked up to see Akubatsu still sitting there on the other end, cleaning herself and not bothering to even recognize Akamaru's existence

"Grrrrr…" he growled, his resolve to catch her renewed and his courage restored

He continued to tightrope across the line, not caring if clothes got in his way or if the line swayed ever so. All he cared about was getting to the other end so he could ring Akubatsu's neck.

"Bark!" he barked, trying to get Akubatsu's attention

He was about a foot away from her when she looked up, giving him a strange glare. Then one of her claws popped out of her paw like a switchblade, glinting slightly in the sun. She brought said claw toward the rope slowly and Akamaru soon realized what she was planning.

"Bow wow!" shouted Akamaru, shaking his head 'no' furiously

"Meow." Replied Akubatsu calmly, nodding her head 'yes'

"Bow!" cried out Akamaru, continuing to shake his head 'no'

"Meow." Replied Akubatsu, continuing to nod her head 'yes'

"Bo…" he mumbled, pleading with her not to do it

"Meow." She replied, snipping the clothesline in one fell swoop

Akamaru floated in the air for maybe a split second before gravity took over and he plummeted. Akamaru grabbed the clothesline for dear life and swung all the way back to the building he started from. As if his mind wasn't reeling enough, the theme of Indiana Jones popped in his head as he hurtled toward the building. Luckily he was headed for an open window. However, his open window happened to have a person on the other side because said person had opened the window to get some fresh air. It was a woman, a rather obese woman and this woman wondered just what that loud whining was. By the time she realized it was a dog, Akamaru flew through the open window and crashed into the woman.

_CRASH!  
_

After Akamaru recovered from the crash he checked himself out and saw that he was actually okay. The big woman had cushioned much of his fall and he was ready to thank the large human until he saw the **large** broom in her hands and the evil glare in her eye.

"Yipe!" yipped Akamaru, taking off like a bullet

Once again the Indiana Jones theme song played in his head while he bolted out of the room and headed for the stairs, just dodging a downward swing from the woman. He was running so fast that he could barely keep his balance on the stairs and scrambled down in a desperate attempt to get out of the house. The large woman was so busy trying to smash Akamaru that she wasn't watching where she was going and tripped and began to roll down the stairs.

"Bow?" wondered Akamaru, wondering what the rumbling was

The woman rolled into a ball and looked a great deal like a pink dressed boulder tumbling down the stairs and Akamaru felt his life flash before his eyes.

"Bow." He thought, thinking he should have had the chicken

Scrambling down the stairs Akamaru didn't both to look back at the tumbling woman, for he could hear the rumbled of her largeness coming for him. Just as she was about to crush him under her weight, Akamaru made a leap of faith toward the open door, just avoiding her and cascaded through the air and out the door.

_BOOM!_

The woman almost immediately picked herself up and ran to the door, trying to look for her little intruder, but Akamaru too far away to catch. The slur of curses that came from her lips were so garbed due to the speed at which she yelled them it sounded as if she were shouting an entirely different language. But Akamaru was long gone by then.

* * *

"Bow…" sighed Akamaru as he wandered around Konoha 

He felt so low at the moment. Not only had he caused many injuries and property damages, but also worst of all, that stupid Akubatsu had gotten away from him, making him look like a fool yet again.

"Bow…" he sighed again, thinking that he'd never catch that damn demon cat

Before he realized it Akamaru had wandered pretty far from the village and was now near the river at the outskirts of Konoha.

"Hmm…" he murmured, deep in thought

Kiba was most likely worried about him and wondering where he was.

"Hrm…" he thought, thinking that it would be a good idea to head back home

Just as he was about to he heard rustling in a nearby bush. Instinctively he dove for cover, taking refuge behind a different bush and stayed low. Out of the other bush came known other than Akubatsu herself, heading over to the river for a drink.

"Grr…" growled Akamaru, making up his mind

This was it; he was ending this here and now and there was only one way to do that. Luckily, with Akubatsu so focused on wetting her whistle she didn't notice Akamaru step out of the bushes or make himself known with a loud bark.

"BARK!"

"_MEOW!_" screeched Akubatsu, 5 of her nine lives gone right there

"Bark, bark, bark…grr…bark!" barked Akamaru, challenging Akubatsu to a duel

"Meow?"

"Bark, woof, woof, bark, woof! Bark, arf, woof, arf, arf, woof!" he barked, telling her that it would be a ninja battle of speed, strength, agility, and skill, "Bark, bark, bark, woof, arf, bark!" he said, telling her that whoever lost had to leave the village of Konoha and never return

"Meow, meow, me, ow?" she questioned, wondering about Akamaru's master and his feelings

"Bark, bark, bark…bark." He replied, understanding the consequences of the duel

"Meow, meow, meow." She replied

If he wanted to play, they would play.

"Meow meow." She warned him, telling him she wouldn't go easy on him just because he was a dog

"Bark, bark, bark!" replied Akamaru, not expecting her to

* * *

The battle would take place on the river, their chakra control the only thing keeping them from being swept away by the river's current, which was unusually strong today. Akamaru seemed to be struggling slightly due to the current, while Akubatsu seemed perfectly fine standing on the water, maybe her natural balance aiding to her chakra control. It didn't matter though to Akamaru, all he wanted to do was battle. 

"Meow." Akubatsu asked, wondering if the 'mutt' as she called him, was ready

"Bark!" replied Akamaru, ready for the 'mangy' cat, referring to her

Both creatures growled at one another before taking off at each other, claws and teeth at the ready.

"Woof!"

"Meow!"

The two animals collided with one another in mid-air, the force of the collision pushing them back where they landed on the water with relative easy.

"Grr…" muttered Akamaru

This cat was nearly as powerful as he was, and twice as fast, putting the white puppy at a disadvantage. With seemingly better chakra control and graceful movements than himself Akamaru was beginning to regret his decision for a duel. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Akubatsu jumping into an attack. By the time he did notice she was already on top of him. Barely sidestepping the attack the white dog didn't have the chance to counter attack as Akubatsu turned on her paw and went for a tackle. Akamaru backed up just enough to avoid any serious injury, the devastating tackle ending up nothing more than a slight push. But the attack didn't stop there, Akubatsu followed up with a barrage of claw strikes that Akamaru was having trouble avoiding.

"Merow! Merow! _Merow!_" she cried, throwing slashes left and right

Akamaru kept up the pace of dodging expertly, until a slight increase in current caused him to stumble somewhat, allowing Akubatsu to land a well placed slash across the puppy's cheek. The attack drew blood and disorientated Akamaru, giving Akubatsu plenty of time to come with her follow-up attack, which consisted of powerful sweep at Akamaru's feet with her tail. The attack connected, knocking Akamaru off his feet and toward the water. Fortunately he threw as much chakra as he could into his tail and smashed it against the water, propelling him skyward while blinding Akubatsu with a column of water.

"Arf…arf…arf…" he panted after landing, the exhortation of chakra getting to him

Like any good ninja he found a nice spot to hide, behind a large stone protruding from the river bed. It easily hid him from Akubatsu, while giving him a good view of the black cat.

"Mrrrrmmm." Mumbled the cat, trying to sniff the air for Akamaru's scent

However, with all the water his scent was masked from the black cat, making Akamaru near impossible to find, thus putting Akubatsu at a disadvantage for the moment. Now that Akamaru had time for a breather, he could come up with a way to take Akubatsu down in one fell swoop. He thought about waiting until she turned her back and then tackle her from behind, but her sense were acute, maybe even more so than his own, so that plan was scraped. However, the more he thought about it the more he came to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe her own senses could be used against her.

"Hrrrrrmmm?" muttered Akubatsu, walking down the river

_Splash!_

Akubatsu immediately turned to the sound of the noise but didn't see Akamaru. With a snort she continued on her way. But it didn't take long for another loud splash to be heard by the dark cat, this time causing her to look about suspiciously.

"Meow?" she wondered, just as another splash came from behind her, "**Meow!**" she glowered, realizing what was going on

Akamaru was toying with her, trying to keep her mentally unbalanced, and it was working. She didn't know where he was, and his constant splashing was driving her up the wall. She may not have been scared of the water but that didn't mean she liked it. However, she knew she'd have to swallow her pride and dive down if she wanted to find the white menace.

"…meow…" she sighed, taking a deep breath and diving under the water

Sure enough, after a few moments she spotted Akamaru, but he spotted her as well and began to dog paddle away. Surprisingly Akubatsu followed, slightly awkward, but quickly none the less. It didn't take long for Akamaru to surface and Akubatsu was right behind him, a small aerial battle taking place before the two landed on the water's surface again.

"Grr…" growled Akamaru

"Grr…" growled Akubatsu

They charged one another yet again, heads colliding on impact. The attack sent Akubatsu skidding back, barely able to keep her balance on the rumbling and tumbling water beneath her. Meanwhile, Akamaru was gaining ground on her, quickly running up to try and finish her off. Akubatsu hopped to the left just before Akamaru could take her down, dashing backward to try and get away from the white puppy as he pressed his attack on her.

"Woof!" barked Akamaru, lunging forward to try and take out her legs

The nimble black cat hopped over the powerful puppy, turned in mid-air and caught herself on the water before rushing forward with a slash.

"_Yipe!_" cried Akamaru, feeling the sharp claws of Akubatsu grate across tail

"Heh, heh, heh." Akubatsu giggled, which granted her a death glare from Akamaru

"**Grrowwll!**" Akamaru growled, determined to finish her once and for all

Slowly the white puppy began to gather his chakra, letting it rise from the depths of his body before centralizing it at the center of his head. Akubatsu could sense the collection of chakra and stayed on guard, ready for anything the puppy might throw at her.

"Raaarrrh!" he growled, bending down low to the water, as if he were going to spring forward at any moment

Akubatsu stood ready, waiting...

"Arf!" cried Akamaru, lunging forward with all the force his little legs could muster

An explosion was water was left in the puppy's wake as he raced over to Akubatsu; faster than he had ever ran before. Akubatsu hardly had the time to jump out of the way before Akamaru sped by her, however he wasn't done yet, turning on his paw and racing back to Akubatsu as she was landing. At the speed he was moving Akubatsu wouldn't be able to dodge in time before she landed, making her a sitting duck. Akamaru lowered his head and braced himself for impact.

"Meow!" cried Akubatsu, right before Akamaru hit

In a last ditch effort to avoid his finishing blow Akubatsu used her natural flexibility to turn over in the air, right above Akamaru, avoiding most of the attack. However he still hit her, sending her spiraling away like a top. Another column of water shot up after the remainder of the attack hit the water and Akamaru began to sink. He tried to summon chakra to his feet, but he had used so much in his attack that he didn't have the reserves needed to do so. He tried to swim, but he was far too tired after that expenditure and it was at that moment that he began to regret using such a foolhardy attack.

"Bo…gurgle…wo…gurgle…" he gurgled, trying his best to stay above the surface, but he was slowly sinking

He was completely under the water now, the air in his lungs quickly escaping and soon the lack of air was getting to him and he started to black out. The last thing he saw before going completely unconscious was a black paw.

* * *

"Bow?" muttered Akamaru as he opened his eyes to come face-to-face with the face of Akubatsu 

"Meow." Akubatsu sighed, sounding somewhat relieved

"Bow wow?" asked Akamaru, wondering what happened

With a sigh Akubatsu began to explain the events prior to this moment. After taking a 'dive', she replied, giggling (though Akamaru didn't think of it being that funny) he began to drown. Akubatsu was just recovering from his ridiculously strong attack and saw him drowning. Now being a cat she didn't want to go in the water any more, but she couldn't just let him drown like that so she saved him. Akubatsu dragged him to the shore and performed CPR, excluding any mouth-to-mouth business.

"Meow, meow, _meow_." She commented

It would seem that Akamaru was a master of drowning, for the sheer amount of time it took for Akubatsu to revive him after she pulled him to shore. Akubatsu swore she pressed against that belly of his for at least ten minutes before any water even shot out of his mouth and then it took at least another twenty minutes for him to wake up.

"Bow…" sighed Akamaru, struggling to his feet

Akubatsu simply stretched out, and commented on the fact that she was happy it took forever for him to wake up. It gave her plenty of time to dry off. It was at that moment that Akamaru decided to dry off, shaking his body rapidly like any canine would, which was right in the directly line of fire of Akubatsu. Safe to say that she would need a little more time to dry off.

"Merow…" she muttered, remembering why she hated dogs

She turned to screech at Akamaru but he was already a few feet away, walking away from her dejected, defeated.

"Meow?" she asked

"Bark, bark, arf." Replied Akamaru, "Bark bark, arf, bark." He said

He lost the battle, he knew that, and he had been saved by the very opponent he lost to. Not only did he have to leave the village, as per the rules of the battle, but he also had to live with the shame that he owed his life to her. With that he continued to walk away.

"Merow…" she sighed

He was hopeless she thought.

"Meow, merow." She replied, telling him that he didn't need to go anywhere

"Bow?" he questioned, "Bow wow, bow." He replied, reminding her of the conditions

"Meow, merow, meow." She replied, telling him that even if she had lost the fight she wouldn't have been going anywhere

Akamaru looked shocked to say the least. Sure, he knew cats were devious and sneaky but he thought that they would at least have some semblance of honor in battle.

"Bark, bark, bark!" barked Akamaru, ashamed at her

Akubatsu sighed again; this dog would never get it.

"Meow, meow, merow?" she asked, asking the puppy if she had ever once agreed to the conditions of the duel

Akamaru went to reply but held his tongue and thought. When he had issued the challenge he was so mad and hell bent on it that he hadn't realized that she _hadn't_ agreed to the terms. All she said was that she'd fight him. So basically there wasn't really any 'duel' more of a skirmish, an everyday fight.

"Bow…"

Akamaru's jaw dropped twenty feet when he realized that, and he felt like an utter fool in the process.

"Meow, merow, meow, merow." She replied before turning and heading back to the village

Akamaru would stand there in that same spot for some time after she left, shocked, confused, angry, and relieve at the sudden turn of events. But as he dwelled on it he came to the realization. Like Akubatsu said, it wouldn't be nearly as fun living in the village if he didn't have a rival. He still didn't like that sneaky black cat, but he now had some respect for the wily feline.

* * *

Well, this isn't exactly one of my better stories. Grammar aside, I think the plot was a little thrown out there with no real thought. It was just something I had to write, just for the fun of it. Hope you all enjoy. I always thought that Akamaru should get a story devoted entirely to him. This is just a starter but I may base a longer one on him depending on the feedback from this one.  



End file.
